Journey into Forever

" That is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.  I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, in that I planned many times to come to you, (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among other Gentiles.  I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.  That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes; first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."        Romans 1:12-16      Since retiring, if I let myself I would be a hermit.  I love staying home, piddling around with things here in the house...computer, sewing machine, television.  I think I just love to piddle.  Part of it might be that for most of my life I was going ni...

Saw this in my study this morning and had to share it: " Have you ever tried to change a bad habit or overcome a sin without first dealing with the heart issue that fuels it? What were the results?" Oh my gosh.....have I!!!!! For way over a decade (maybe close to 2) as a saved person I tried to quit smoking. I knew this was not what God wanted of me, but I couldn't seem to do it. I would for a while, then always fall back under periods of stress or for whatever reason ... . God, being the merciful and loving God He is, would not give up ....as we've spoken of so many times on this blog before. Once I dealt with the heart issue as this quote states, on my knees, broken, I have not had the urge to smoke since. He has blessed me beyond measure in the years since I finally did this. Wow!!!! Take it from me.....it's not the sin that's so much the problem.....it's the heart. What do you need to surrender? I didn't need to surrender th...

" That is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.  I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, in that I planned many times to come to you, (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among other Gentiles.  I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.  That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes; first to the Jew, then to the Gentile."        Romans 1:13-16      Whew! Have I been through a frustrating time in my walk with Christ!  You know, there is one thing for sure when you are God's.  He doesn't compromise with what's best for you, and He doesn't play games.  Unlike me (or us maybe?). ...

     Everybody has them. Those periods of time when you have the blahs.  Spiritually trapped.  In a funk .  I think even the disciples had those period of time when they were not their best. Questioning , feeling somewhat hopeless, bereft .  I think that is what irritates me the most about the " feel good" preachers out there .  Truth is, we are human.  We don't always " feel good".  Some days stink.   Some weeks stink......sometimes it's even longer.  Does that mean we are not truly born-again Christians?  Don't believe it.  It just means we are being real.      Jesus was real .  That was the whole plan. He was human so that He would understand our struggles .  He gets it.  Remember His prayer at Gethsemene?  He was in agony.  Although we are confident He never sinned, we see examples of His humanity in his anguish and in other examples in the Bible. ...

"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst."          - 1 Timothy 1:15      We all have people we know, or know of, who seem beyond salvation.  People who have lifestyles  so far away from God there is apparently no hope.  We fear they will never come to Him, or even be accepted by Him if they do.  I know of people who have been prayed for in time measured by decades, not weeks or months.  Many of these people don't seem any closer than they were at the beginning.  We wonder if there is any hope.  Sometimes we wonder that about ourselves also.  How could God want association, let alone a relationship, with someone who has done the things I've done?      That's why Paul and his writings fascinate me.  Of all people, why Paul?  He was the FBI's ...

This morning I was studying for my next post.  I had finished my research, and had turned to read a devotional from the "In Touch" ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley.  I receive his "In Touch" magazine free every month, as anyone can by visiting http://www.intouch.org/ .  In  the September issue, I read an article by Cameron Lawrence titled 'Ready to Meet You'.  It touched me deeply and I felt led to share it here.  I am going to quote the article in its entirety, with no comments.  I'll leave that to the Holy Spirit: "The rain slowed to a gentle shower, and in the lull, we made a break for the parking deck.  Across the vacant downtown square, cafe' awnings dripped onto padlocked chairs.  Street lamps stared at their bulbs reflected in the gleaming pavement.      We had just been to dinner - the rare night when babysitter availability matched our schedule.  We were full of tapas and pie, holding hands and laughing at ...

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst .       -  1 Timothy 1:15      Whew! I don't know about you, but I am TIRED!  Busy, hectic week of family activities, get-togethers, food preparation, final preparations.....the list goes on and on.  Suddenly, it's done, and we begin the long stretch of "quiet" weeks in January and February.  I know as a teacher, the end of the holidays meant starting a period of time that to elementary teachers was at least a mixed blessing.  Yes, we had a long block of time that was pretty well uninerrupted for quality instruction.  Children were really ready to learn, and we could really make some headway.  On the negative side of the coin, it frequently meant days or weeks of 'inside recess' when young children could not go outside and run off some energy due to cold temperatures, snow, etc.  W...